Musical instrument



July 7, 193l- M. D. ZIMMERMANET AL 1,813,337

MUS ICAL INSTRUMENT Filed March 22', 1930 -s sheets-sheer 1 July 7 1931.M. D. ZIMMERMAN ET AL 1,813,337

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed March 22, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 7, 1931.M. D. ZIMMERMAN E1- AL 1,813,337

MUS ICAL INSTRUMENT Filed March 22, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Z'Inmermaa;

Harry RuZZen,

DMA/VMM Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFECE MARTN D.ZIMMERMAN, 0F WASHINGTON, Distrizic@ or COLUMBIA, AND `i'rARRY PULLEN,or PRESTON, MARYLAND, .as-siemens To Ii;

nnafrioiAL PATENTS coR* roRAT'Io'N, or' Runoisorn BEACH, DELAWARE, Acrearon-Arron or DELAWARE MSICAL INSTRUMNT Appiicat-aon eiednarcii 2`2,1930'. semi No'. 435,125.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in musicalinstruments, and has for an object to produce an instrumentthat maybereadily played by anyone, A,it

.s necessitating simply the turning of a handle while air is blown intoor drawn from the instrument.

Still another object of the invention is to provide ai musicalinstrument in which there w is placed a harmonica over which is drawnthe paper from a music roll and the' har-f monica being so arranged thatthe air will be fed into a cylinder enclosing the harmonica and the airthus directed to the har- 19 monica 'trom its oppositejends.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a musical instrumentin which there is fitted a unit, which unit comprises a hollow cylinderclosed at its ends. There is a zu harmonica tightly fitted within thecylinder while a bifurcated passage-way for the' air extends to theopposite ends of the closed cylinder.

Still another object of the invention is to 1w provide a. musicalinstrument comprising a cylinder closed at its opposite ends, in whichthere is fitted a harmonica, there being a passageway for the air in theopposite ends of the cylinders and there being a form off baille ,miplate nea'i" the opposite ends of the cylinders, so that it isimpossible to suddenly blow the papier music sheet away from the said.harmonica, and so that the air will be more evenly distributed to thevarious reeds.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a' musicalinstrument in which there is fitted a cylinder closed at its oppositeends and in which cylinder there is a harmonica, and wherein the casingof the musical instru- .'jment forms a sonorous body or sound box, sothat the music emitted will have intensity as well as timbre or quality.

Still another object of the invention is to produce a' musicalinstrument in thek form ot a casing with a curved top, so that the"casing, in turn', forms a resonant chamber, there being a plurality ofopenings around the edges of the lid ot the casing while cup-shapedpieces or bells are also secured in the front edge of the casing tofurther cause the music to be rich in tone and also be of good qualityor color.

Still another object of the invention is to.

provide a musical instrument, the casing of which is formed to lendquality to the music, the casing, in turn, being provided with anarrangement for receiving and operating a music roll which is passedover a reed instrument or harmonica, means also being provided foradmitting the air around the sides and lower portion of the harmonicaand forcing the same up and through the mouth ot the harmonica, l

Still another object of the inv'ention is to provide a musicalinstrument provided with a casing ot such construction asto lend timbreor quality to the instrument and to provide a unit which may be easilyplaced within the casing, which unit comprises a harmonica, means torfeeding air evenly to the same, and a still further unit which coiprises the music roll and the means for turning the same.

lVit-h these and other objects in view, the invention consists incertain new and novel arrangements and combination ot parts, as will behereinafter `more Jfully described and pointed out in the claims.

Referring now to the dra'wi preferredembodim .it oil our im l Fig. l isa top plan view of our nnprovea'l musical instrument, a portion beingbroken away to show how the n'iouth-piecc isrscrewed into place;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the saine 5' Fig. 3 is a` plan View ot'the instrimient with the lid thro vn bach and parts broken away for thesake ot clearness;

Fig. l is a sectional view ta ien on the line l-- of Fig'. 3;

Fig. 5 is an' enlarged sectional view on thc line of Fig. 3, with thelid closed;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of what wel lerm the musical unit;

Fig. 7 is a perspective of one of the music roll spools.

Casing Referring n'ow more specifically to the drawings, there will be'seen a rectangular casing 1, which is preferably made of metal, for sakeof cheapness of manufacture, although other desirable materials might beused. The sides 2 of thecasing are substan- 7 tially triangular in shapeand have their highest point at the centers 8, as may be seen in theseveral views. There may also be seen a lid 4 which is hinged at itsrear, as at 4, and this lid 4 has the downwardly pro- 5 jecting rims ateach 0f its sides, so that the as we have found that even with theopenings at the front of the lid, which will be shortly explained, it isnecessary to provide additional openings around the sides of the lid toproduce clear musical notes.

Along the front edge of the casing 1, there Y may be seen the threesmall bells`7 which are carried by the front edge of the casing, and thelid, will be provided with small cutf away portions 8 to properlyencircle the inner ends of the bells, so that the lid may be tightlyclosed.

In Fig. 1, it will also be noticed that the lid near its front edge isprovided with the elongated slots 9, so that the musical sounds may beemitted through the opening 6 around the lid, the bells 7 along thefront of the instrument, and the elongated slots 9 along the front upperedge of the lid. With these various and multiplicity of openings, themusical tones are emitted from the instrument rich in tone and of goodintensity. Thus, it will be seen that by providing the casing with theupwardly sloping sides and a relatively high lid, the entire casingforms a good sound n .boX or sonorous body to thereby give strength oramplitude and quality or color to the musical tones. Y v

[mtrwnent @mit Referring now to the instrument unit, it will be seenthat the same comprises a cylinder 10 which is preferably made of a thinmetal and has its two ends sealed by the respective plates 11. Beforesealing this tube or cylinder, however, a mouth organ or harmonica 12 isplaced within lthe cylinder 1() and has its upper edge or mouth tightlyfitted within the rectangular slot 13, that is N out in the cylindernear its top.

Referring for the moment to Fig. 5 where this harmonica 12 may be seenin section, it will be noticed that a small gasket 14, which may be ofrubber or cork, is secured around the upper outer edge of the harmonicaand rests against the shoulders 15 of the outer side plates 16 of theharmonica. Thus, it will be seen that when the harmonica 12 is fitted upwithin the slot 13, this cork or rubber gasket will abut against theinner surface of the cylinder about the slot and tightly seal `the upperedge of the harmonica with relation to the tube or cylinder. This mustbe so, as the air is to be fed at the opposite ends of the cylinder ortube, as will be shortly explained.

Referring armement to the harmonica 12, there may be seen in Fig. 5 thatit consists of the center board 17 which has the regular slots thereinso that the reed plates with the reeds 18 will be located opposite theslots in the usual manner and will be set in vibration by the airimpinging against them.

The harmonica, however, has additional little rubber coverings or flaps19 for cach reed slot, one being placed on the inner side of the slot infront of the reed, while the oppositely located reed will have the smallrubber flap over the outside of its slot, so that if air is blownthrough the harmonica from the bottom and out through the mouth 'of theharmonica and a note is to be played, the particular reed in questionwill vibrate because the rubber flap will be blown away from the openingbehind the reed, whereas if the air is drawn through the mouth of theharmonica, the rubber iap ust referred to will close the opening, andthe cooperating opposite reed will come into function, as its rubberflap will be drawn away from its respective slot rather than forcedagainst it.

This is necessarily so, as the air is to be blown into the instrument ordrawn through the instrument and the perforated music roll in passingover the mouth of the harmonica and the various openings selects acertain note, or notes, to be played and thisv must be played whetherthe air happened to be going into the harmonica or was being drawnthrough it. y e

After the harmonica has been placed within the tube or cylinder, smallwedges 20 are driven in from the opposite ends of the cylinder 10 totightly hold the harmonica in 'position in its slot and to jam theheretofore-mentionad gasket up against the walls and cylinder.

There may also be seen in Figs. 3 and 4 the small baffle plates 21,which have the series of perforations 22 and which may be held againstthe opposite ends of the harmonica by the respective screws 23.

It will be noted that these baflie plates are slightly spaced from therespective end plates 11 to form the small chambers 24, while from theserespective chambers there are the passageways or openings 25 which areconnected by the pipe ,26, which has the two respectivo branches, thesebranches being secured at 27 to the cylinder 10 over the opening 25.There is a common inlet 28 for this pipe 26 so that when the 'air entersthe inlet 28 it will be divided and directed to the oppositely locatedchambers 24,-as will be readily understood.

Toconveniently fit the lips, there is shown the mouth-piece 29 which isthreaded within the inlet 28. It might also be mentioned here that thisinlet 28 is passed through the rear oi: the casing and if, for anyreason, it i desired to remove the unit, the moutl -piece 29 will belirst unserewed, after which small holding screws 30 may be removedwhich, it will be seen, pass through the sides of the casing and litwithin the end plates 1l of the tube or cylinder l0.

As far as this unit has been described, it will be seen that airentering in the mouthpiece Q9 will be evenly distributed to the oppositechambers 23 and there baflled by the small plate 22 to thus be evenlydistributed throughout the length of the cylinder to 'the harmonica. l

lVc have found this a great advantage over other musical instruments ofthis general type, as not only will it prevent the paper of the musicroll, about to be described, from being blown away from the mouth of theharmonica should the player suddenly blow a hard breath into the unit,but it will produce a more evenly distributed volume of air and thusnrore effectively and evenly operates the reeds to in turn produce moreevenly sounded notes.

Uf course, should the perforated music strip be blown away from themouth of the harmonica, not only will more wind be necesszny to operatethe instrument but false notes might be played.

lt will also be seen that should'the harmonica in any way become damagedor any of the reeds become affected. it is a relatively simple matter toremove the above-mentioned unit, insert a new harmonica and replace theunit.

As may be seen in Fig. 5, there is a small drain plug 3l which leadsinto the bottom of the cylinder' l0 so that should the moisture orsaliva collect` in the cylinder, it may be drained when desired.

lt will also be noticed from Figs. 4, 5 and 6 that the harmonica is notpositioned vertically within the cylinder 10, but is positioned slightlyangularly to a vertical line, while in the same manner the slot l?) isnot formed in the center of the top of the tube but at a slight distancefrom the top, so that the perforated paper roll 32 will more tightly hugor cover the slot than if this arrangement were not followed out.

Also, as may be seen in Figs. 1 and 3, there is a window 33 cut in thelid of the casing, so that the player may see the perforations in themusic roll and then accentuate or slow .flown the action of the musicroll at certain times, similar to the way automat-ic piano players areoperated.

The sounds will pass out through the mouth of the orga-n and strike thelid and be deflected and, in turn, set the entire casing in vibration.Of course, there will be a certain amount of vibration of the tube orcylinder l() to also eli'ect the vibration of the casing or sonorousbody, and there is thus produced a surprisingly loud and rich tone, fardifferent from musical instruments of this general type that are moreIor less but toys.

Having thus described the casing and the musical instrument, a shortdescription of the means for holding the music roll and its operationwill be set forth.

However, it is not thought necessary to describe the perforated musicroll itself, as it is similar in all respects to the perforated rollused in player pianos but, of course, 011 a much smaller scale.

Referring to Fig. 3 for the moment, there will be noticed the operatinghandle 34 which is suitably mounted at one side of the casing on thesmall stud shaft 35 which will fit within one end of the blank spool 3G.

In Fig. 7, there will be seen the spool in detail, it consisting of thelittle circular end pieces 3S, central shaft or hub 39, which is cutout, as at 40, while extendingr over this cut-out portion and slightlyspaced from the bottom thereof, may be seen the rod 4l so that thebeginning of the paper roll may be quiclily and readily threaded aboutthe spool.

'l`o engage and support the other end of the spool 36, we provide alittle stub shaft 42 at the opposite side of the casing, which shaftlits within the collar 43. This stub shaft fl-2. has the end piece 44near its end so that a spring 45 may be placed between the adjacent wallof the casing and'this end piece to normally hold the end piece tightlyagainst the end 38 of the spool.

There also will be noticed the little pin 46 that lits within the slot47 of the collar so that when first placing the spool o6 in position thesame may be moved slightly laterally, after which the other end of thespool will have fitted therein the little stub shaft 35 on which thehandle 34 is located. After the spool has been once fitted, a little pin35 may be fitted through the shaft 35 and the spool shaft 39 so that thespool is kept in proper position.

There will also be noticed the little rewind handle 48 on the stub shaft49, which shaft will engage one end of the spool 50 on which is Woundthe perforated music sheet 32, while adjacent the opposite end of thisspool will be thelittle supporting shaft 5l with its col` lar 52, thespring 58 and the other little parts similar t-o the little shaft 42 andits associated parts, just described, although this spool 50 will haveslightly more lateral movement so as to disengage the spool from theinner end of the shaft 49 in order to remove the roll just played andinsert anew one.

It might also be mentioned that they spring. 53- and its cooperatingparts act asa brake for the winding of the music roll, so that when thelittle handle 34 is turned, there will be sui'licient tension on theroll to wind the same up evenly and tightly. In the same manner, whenthe handle 48 is used to rewind the roll, the spring l5 will act as abrake and the music sheet will be rewound tightly and easily to itsoriginal position.

The two spools are so located that there will also be some littlefriction as the paper passes over the cylinder and tracks over the mouthof the harmonica, thus keeping the paper tight at all times to preventthe escape of air between the mouth of the harmonica and the paper.

It will also be noticed that Vwe thread the music roll under the windingspool rather than over the top, so that as it feeds from the top of onespool it will pass over the mouth of the harmonica and then down underthe winding spool.

From the above description, it will be readily apparent that a musicroll may be quickly and readily placed in position and then quicklythreaded to the blank spool after which the little handle may be turnedand the music will track and be tightly held against the mouth of themusical instrument or harmonica that lies flush with the outer surfaceof the casing'or tube that holds the harmonica.

It will also be seen that the music roll may be quickly rewound to itsoriginal position and either played over again or a new music is rollinserted. It is also to be understood that although we have shown aharmonica of sixteen notes, the parts may be enlarged and built toaccommodate a thirty-two note instrument.

@occlusion VFrom the foregoing, it will be seen that we have produced amusical instrument that is exceedingly simple to play, 'but' whereinafter the player has familiarized himself with the same, he can, intime, produce better music than a beginner, similar to the Vmanner inwhich a player-piano may be operated with different degrees of skill.

It will also be seen that by producing Va musical instrument wherein thecasing acts as a sound box, richer and more colorful music may beproduced than on instrun'ients of the salne general type that do nothave this feature. Furthermore, it will be seen that most of the air isblown into the cylinder and passes out through the mouth of the organ,rather than having the air pass directly through the mouth of the organand then out of the instrument. This latter only happens when the breathis drawn in bythe player, which takes place intermittently and forperiods of short duration. Furthermore, by sealing the two ends andproviding the baffle plates, the air is more evenly fed and distributedto the harmonica than hasy heretofore'been the case.Y Y

Finally, by providing the casing as shown with the various soundopenings and by shaping the casing so that the same may act as a soundbox, the musical tones will be rich and of pleasing intensity.

Many slight changes might be made Without in any way departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. y

I-Iaving thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Ina musical instrument, a casing in the form of a sound box, meanswithin the same for enclosing ya harmonica, means for supporting rollerswithin the casing, and means for delivering air to the opposite ends ofthe means enclosing the harmonica.

2. ln a musical instrument, a casing in the form of a sonorous body,sealed means within the same for holding a harmonica, means forsupport-ing` rollers within the casing tocarry a Yperforated music rollacross the mouth of the harmonica, and means for delivering air to theopposite ends of the sealed means that encloses the harmonica.

3. In a musical instrument, a casing in the form of a sound box, sealedmeans within the same for holding a harmonica, a'harmonica within thesealed means and having its mouth extending without they sealed ine-ans,means for supporting rollerswithin the casing to carry a perforatedmusic roll across the mouth of ythe harmonica, and bi furcated means fordelivering air to the sealed means to thereby operate said harmonica.

4. In a musical instrument, a casing in the form of a sound box, aharmonica in the casing, means within thecasing enclosing and sealingall but the mouth of the harmonica7 means for restrictively feeding airto the enclosing means so that air will pass up from the bottom of theharmonica and out through the mouth of the same, and means for selectingthe notes of the harmonica to be operated.

5. In a musical instrument, a casing in the form of an amplifyingchamber, a member within the casing sealedat its both endsand having aslot in the upper portion thereof, a harmonica within the sealed memberand having its mouth extending in said slot, means for supplying airl tothe opposite ends of the member and passing out through the mouth of theharmonica, and means for passing a perforated music roll over the mouthof the harmonica.

6. In a. musical instrument, a casing in the form of a sound box, amember within the casing and sealed at its opposite ends, said memberprovided with an elongated slot, a

harmonica having its mouth fitting up with- 1n the slot, means fordirecting the air to prising a hollow both ends of said member, meansfor passing a perforated music roll over said slot whereby air may bedirected to the opposite ends of the chamba' and into the harmonica andout the mouth thereof and also drawn in through the mouth of theharmonica and out of said chamber'.

7. ln a musical instrument of a player type, a sound box, a sealed unitwithin said sound box, a harmonica in said unit and having its mouthext-enclin g without the unit, means for feeding air to the sealed unit,means within the sealed unit for baffling the air fed there to and meansfor passing a perforated music sheet over the said unit and mouth of theharmonica.

8. A musical instrunient comprising a casing, a musical unit within thecasing, said unit comprising a tubular member sealed at its ends, aharmonica within the meml er and the mouth thereof extending without themember, means for feeding air to the opposite ends of the member, meansfor baffling the air before passing through the said harmonica, andmeans for passing a music roll over the mouth of said harmonica.

9. A replaceable unit for a musical instrument including a hollow membersealed at its ends and provided with an elongated slot on its uppersurface, a harmonica wit-hin the member and having its mouth fitting andsealed within said slot, and means for feeding air into the hollowmember.

l0. A unit for a musical instrument commember sealed at its ends andprovided with an elongated slot, a harmonica within the member andhaving its mouth sealed within the slot, and a bifurcated passageway forfeeding air into the hollow member.

ll. A unit for a player type of musical instrument comprising a hollowmember sealed at its ends and provided with an elongated slot, aharmonica within the member and having its mouth fitted tightly withinsaid slot, bifurcated passageways for feeding air to the opposite endsof the hollow member, and means located near the opposite ends forbaffling the air before passing to the har- 1 monica.

l2. A unit for a player type of musical instrument comprising a hollowmember sealed at its ends and provided with an elongated slot, aharmonica within the member and having its mouth tightly fitted withinsaid slot, baffle plates within the member and located at the oppositeends of the harmonica to form small air chambers at the opposite ends ofthe hollow member, and means for feeding air to the said respectivechambers to thereby baffle the air before passing to the said harmonica.

13. A unit for a musical instrument comprising a hollow tubular membersealed at its ends and provided; with an elongated slot, a

harmonica within said tubular member and having its mouth sealed withinthe walls of the slot, baffle plates within the tubular me1nber and atthe opposite ends of the harmonica, a bifurcated passagewaycommunicating with the tubular member so that the air from saidbifurcated member must pass through said baiile plates before enteringthe harmonica, and means for holding the harmonica tightly in position.

14. A unit for a musical instrument comprising a hollow member sealed atits ends, baiile plates within the member and spaced from the ends, thehollow member providn ed with an elongated slot, a harmonica in thehollow member and having its mouth fitting within said slot, means forfeeding air between the respective baffle plates and the ends of thehollow member, means for holding the harmonica in position, and meansfor sealing the mouth of the harmonica within said slot.

l5. In a musical instrument of the player type, a casing having a lid,said lid and casing provided with openings to provide for the emissionof sound, bell mouths also fitted to the casing for permitting theemission of sounds, a harmonica within the casing, means for feeding airto the harmonica, and means for supporting and passing a perforatedmusic sheet over the mouth of the harmonica.

16. n a musical instrument of the player type, a casing in the form of asound box and provided with openings for the emission of sound, amusical unit within said sound box comprising a sealed unit, said sealedunit having a harmonica therein and the mouth of the harmonica extendingwithout the unit, passagelvays for feeding air to the unit, means forsupporting a music roll to pass over the mouth of the harmonica, andbrake means on the supportingmeans so that the perforated music will beheld tightly against the mouth of the harmonica. i

In estimony whereof we alix our signatures.

MARTIN D. ZIMMERMAN. HARRY PULLEN.

